Melanie Griffith, 51, looks better than ever as she joins husband Antonio Banderas for Rita Wilson gig | Daily Mail Online comments She was considered to be one of the most stylish and sexy women in cinema. Radiating the Hitchcock blonde charm she inherited from her mother Tippi Hedren, Melanie Griffith, now 54, added her own warmth into the mix. And last night she was back to her very best as she joined her husband Antonio Banderas for a night on the town. Solid as a rock: A fresh-faced Melanie Griffith looked elegant as she was escorted to the Troubadour for Rita's gig last night It was the elegant Griffiths of yore who stalked the sidewalk in West Hollywood last night, in a cool black ensemble. The same woman who survived the cruel fashions of the 80s' with aplomb, and shone in underrated roles in Pacific Heights and The Bonfire of the Vanities which saw her head into the '90s with a strong career ahead of her. But the wife of handsome Antonio Banderas,51, always had personal demons to battle, both in terms of substance abuse (she struggled long and hard with cocaine) and body image concerns.

When she married Banderasin 1996, nobody expected it to last, least of all it seemed at times... Griffith herself. Looking sharp: Melanie looked younger than she has in many years and was in high spirits as she signed autographs Keeping it simple: Melanie's black ensemble took years off her But it did, and lately the couple have seemed happier than ever, and last night Melanie looked better than ever as the couple stepped out to support their friend Rita Wilson at the Troubadour club in LA. Tom Hanks wife is launching a career as a singer, and the devoted couple showed out to offer her support. Griffith looked more relaxed than she has in years, and more natural. Banderas has said of his wife in the pasy: 'Hollywood stars are not supposed to be perfection. I don't believe in perfection. I think it is a mistake. Weathering storms together: Melanie, who is completely sober these days, took the wheel as they left the legendary venue Loyal husband: The Spanish actor has stood by his wife throughout her many difficulties The mother-of-three has also been accused of having a 'trout pout', when lip fillers are used to create massive smackers reminiscent of fish.

Melanie had been filming The Hot Flashes in New Orleans, a film about a basketball team of middle-aged women co-starring Brooke Shields and Darryl Hannah. The actress was cast as Clementine Winks in the new comedy, but walked off the set last month. She posted a statement on her Twitter account saying: ' I am sorry to say that due to 'creative differences' I will no longer be in The Hot Flashes. But I love all you wonderful people of NO! Love.' Lost in conversation: Sixteen years married and the pair still seem to have much to talk about Star-studded event: Rita Wilson is Hollywood royalty, so it's understandable that Banderas and co came out to support her She's had a tumultuous life, at age 14, Griffith began dating 22-year old actor Don Johnson who co-starred with her mother in The Harrad Experiment, in which Griffith was an extra.

The relationship culminated in a six-month marriage in 1976 and Tatum O'Neal alleged in her 2004 autobiography that around that time, she (then 12) and Griffith (then 18) participated in an opium-fueled orgy in a Paris hotel room. In September 1981, Griffith married Steven Bauer, her co-star in the TV film She's in the Army Now. Star of the show: Rita leaves her show with friend, and Bruce's wife, Patti Springsteen No missing persons here: Without a Trace star Anthony LaPaglia rocked up to support his friend They have a son, Alexander, born on August 22, 1985. The couple divorced in 1987. Still got it: Melanie looked fab at the Coachella Festival last month, too Griffith later admitted to having problems with cocaine and liquor after her divorce from Bauer: 'What I did was drink myself to sleep at night and added if I wasn't with someone, I was an unhappy girl..' She checked into rehab in 1988 and during this time, she reunited with Johnson, became sober and pregnant.

They remarried in June 1989 and had daughter, Dakota Johnson, on October 4, 1989, she's now a model. They separated in June 1994, reconciled later that year but separated again in May 1995 and finally divorced in 1996. Griffith and Antonio Banderas began a relationship in May 1995 when they began filming Two Much. The couple has been married since May 14, 1996 and their daughter, Stella del Carmen Banderas Griffith, was born on September 24, 1996. In 2000, Griffith had her husband's first name 'Antonio' inside a heart tattooed on her right shoulder. She returned to rehab in 2008, Banderas spoke about this period in April 2010: 'The whole family took part, Stella included. I was there three times a week at a stretch, and we participated in group therapy with our daughter. It strengthened our relationship in many ways.

We participated very directly, all of us.' Griffith’s son Alexander and daughter Dakota were there, as was her former stepson, Jesse Johnson, and Griffith's mother, Tippi Hedren. Off day: Melanie back in 2009, she looks younger today than she did then Melanie Griffith - Biography - IMDb Melanie Griffith Biography Showing all 74 items Jump to: Overview (3) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (4) | Trade Mark (4) | Trivia (47) | Personal Quotes (12) | Salary (3) Overview (3) 5' 9¼" (1.76 m) Mini Bio (1) Melanie Griffith was born on August 9, 1957 in New York City, to then model/future actress Tippi Hedren and former child actor turned advertising executive Peter Griffith . Her parents' marriage ended in 1961 and Tippi brought Melanie to Los Angeles to get a new start. Tippi caught the eye of the great director Alfred Hitchcock , who gave her starring roles in The Birds (1963) and Marnie (1964).

She married her then-agent, Noel Marshall , in 1964 (they divorced in 1982), and Melanie grew up with three stepbrothers. Meanwhile, her father married Nanita Greene Samuels and had two more children: Tracy Griffith and Clay A. Griffith . Melanie also grew up with tigers and lions, as Tippi and Noel were raising them for the movie Roar (1981), in which the family later starred. Melanie's acting career, however, began as a model at just nine months old in a commercial and she later appeared as an extra in Smith! (1969) and The Harrad Experiment (1973), where she fell in love with her mother's co-star, Don Johnson . She was only 14 years old, while he was a twice-divorced 22-year-old. Tippi took a very liberal approach and allowed Melanie to move in with Don at a tender age. Even though Melanie didn't like modeling, she continued to do it to pay the bills. One day she went to meet with director Arthur Penn for what she thought was a modeling assignment.

It was actually an audition for his film Night Moves (1975), and Penn gave her the role of a runaway nymphet. She was hesitant, but Johnson encouraged her to take the role. She agreed but was terrified of performing in front of the camera. Penn took a paternal interest in her, and she felt confident and gave a riveting performance, doing racy nude scenes. It immediately typecast her and led to more nymphet roles, with her beautiful nude body a permanent fixture in movies like Ha-Gan (1977) and Joyride (1977). She also married Johnson, in Las Vegas in 1976, but the union ended within six months, possibly because her early movie success outshone his. Unfortunately, as her career progressed, she became increasingly dependent on drugs and alcohol, a fact well-known to studio executives, who stopped considering her for feature film roles. She started doing television work, where she met her second husband, Steven Bauer , on the set of the TV movie She's in the Army Now (1981). He helped her to overcome her drug and alcohol problems and got her to take acting classes with Stella Adler in New York.

The classes paid off, as director Brian De Palma cast her as a porno actress in his murder mystery Body Double (1984) and her sexy, funny performance won her rave reviews and the Best Supporting Actress Award by the National Society of Film Critics and a Golden Globe nomination. Jonathan Demme was so impressed with her performance that he gave her the female lead in Something Wild (1986) without even auditioning her. The film became a cult favorite, with Melanie again getting critical plaudits and a Golden Globe nomination. The birth of her first child, Alexander, in 1985, didn't help to save her struggling marriage, and she and Bauer divorced shortly thereafter. She was given starring roles in Cherry 2000 (1987) and Stormy Monday (1988), but the films were barely released. Soon writers were asking when the public at large was going to take notice of this talented and unique actress. Melanie's career skyrocketed when Mike Nichols cast her as a spunky secretary named Tess McGill in Working Girl (1988), a box-office hit for which she received an Oscar nomination as Best Actress and won the Golden Globe Award as Best Actress in a Comedy.

Behind the scenes, however, her ongoing substance abuse had become problematic, and Nichols pushed her into a rehabilitation clinic after production wrapped. En route to the clinic she called ex-husband Johnson for support, and they reconciled after her release from the clinic. She got pregnant and remarried Johnson in 1989, and later that year their daughter Dakota Johnson was born. A sober Melanie now concentrated on her film career, but the two-year absence after Working Girl (1988) took a toll, since younger actresses ( Julia Roberts , Michelle Pfeiffer , Demi Moore , Meg Ryan , Jodie Foster (to whom Melanie lost the Oscar to)) became bankable stars, and there was stiff competition for the good roles. The films Melanie chose usually flopped badly, such as The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), which reunited her with director Brian De Palma . Even though she gave heartfelt performances in all her films, she was often miscast, with her breathy little-girl voice not helping matters in her role as a spy in Shining Through (1992) and as a homicide detective going undercover in the Hassidic Jewish community in New York City in A Stranger Among Us (1992).

Melanie made a minor comeback with her supporting role as a desperate housewife in Nobody's Fool (1994), which reunited her with Bruce Willis , her co-star in The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), and Paul Newman , her co-star from The Drowning Pool (1975). She also earned a Golden Globe nomination for her work in the well-received TV miniseries Buffalo Girls (1995), followed by another hit film, the ensemble Now and Then (1995). Her personal life was making headlines again, though, as she left Johnson because of his own substance-abuse problems, reconciled with him briefly when he became sober, only to leave him again, this time for Antonio Banderas , her married co-star from Two Much (1996). Both she and Banderas created a scandal in 1995 with their torrid romance, and the tabloids followed their every move, including her divorce from Johnson and his divorce from wife Ana Leza . Melanie became pregnant with her third child, and she and Banderas married in 1996.

Their daughter Stella Banderas was born the same year, and the notorious couple were forgiven by the public and the media. Melanie won strong reviews in independent films like Another Day in Paradise (1998), where she played a heroin-using criminal accomplice on the run, and the made-for-cable movie RKO 281 (1999), in which she portrayed actress Marion Davies , a part that garnered her Golden Globe and Emmy nominations as Best Supporting Actress. Melanie became dependent to pain killers, however, returning to rehab in 2000. She wrote about her struggle and recovery in her journal on her official website. Greenmoon Productions, the production company that she formed with Banderas, produced several flops, such as her starring vehicle Crazy in Alabama (1999), directed by Banderas. Her career took another blow when her TV series, Me & George (1998), never even aired. After making Cecil B.

DeMented (2000) and Forever Lulu (2000), Melanie did a voice-over role in Stuart Little 2 (2002) and played supporting roles in minor films Tempo (2003), as Sylvester Stallone 's girlfriend in Shade (2003), and as Barbara Marx in The Night We Called It a Day (2003) with Dennis Hopper playing Frank Sinatra , but none of these films made a ripple at the box office. As a result, film and television offers started to dry up. In 2003, a resourceful Melanie turned to the Broadway stage, and packed houses with her turn as the murderess "Roxie Hart" in the musical "Chicago," for which she received a rave review from the New York Times theater critic. It renewed her confidence, as she had never sang, danced or been on the Broadway stage before. In 2005 she surprised viewers by playing a mom to two grown women in the TV series Twins (2005), which was canceled after one season.

She tried to resurrect her career with another attempt at a TV series, Viva Laughlin (2007), but it was canceled after just two episodes. Melanie didn't act again for the remainder of the decade, because, by self-admission, she couldn't obtain any worthwhile roles. In 2009, she was back in rehab after yet another relapse, emerging after a three-month stay. Professionally, she was faced with more disappointment in 2012 when This American Housewife (2012), a Lifetime series that Banderas produced for her to star in, never aired. She went back to the stage in 2012 and played Scott Caan 's mother in a play that he wrote titled "No Way Around but Through." She impressed Caan enough to recommend her to producers of his television show Hawaii Five-0 (2010). Since 2014, she started playing a recurring role as his mother on the show. Also in 2014, Melanie filed for divorce from Banderas citing "irreconcilable differences" after nearly twenty years together.

She never publicly discussed her reasons for the divorce, and she didn't promote her feature film Automata (2014), the final time that she acted with Banderas. It took a year for the divorce to be finalized, during which time, she and Banderas made one important appearance together at their daughter Stella's high school graduation. She also made another public appearance with another ex-husband, Don Johnson, on Saturday Night Live (1975) to support their daughter Dakota, who was the host for that week. Dakota was promoting her star-making turn in Fifty Shades of Grey (2015), thus carrying on the family tradition of being a film actress. Melanie maintains close ties with her three children and her mother Tippi Hedren. She is involved in various charities, including raising funds for Tippi's Shambala preserve, a refuge for wild animals. Melanie also runs a non-profit organization for benefiting burned children. Melanie is single and her children are living on their own. So she has devoted most of her time seeking out acting roles.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Ramstep Spouse (4) Voluptuous figure Trivia (47) Her mother, Tippi Hedren , recently stated that the miniature doll of Hedren given to Melanie by Alfred Hitchcock was not intended to be a prank by the director. He merely wanted to give Melanie a beautiful doll with her mother's image, but it happened that the doll was in a wooden box. When Melanie received the gift, she freaked out and became upset thinking that it was indeed meant to be her mother in a coffin. Born at 11:49pm-EDT Daughter of Peter Griffith and Tippi Hedren . 14 November 2000 - checked into a Marina Del Rey, California hospital to help her scale back on the use of painkillers she had been prescribed for a neck injury. In 1980, she went to a movie and dinner with Ricci Martin (son of Dean Martin ). Upon leaving La Dome, a restaurant on Sunset Boulevard, a car ran through the crosswalk and hit Melanie. The front of the car struck her hip in mid-stride, whiplashing her head back into the windshield.

As the car screeched to a stop, Melanie catapulted more than a dozen feet forward to the curbside, hitting with great force. Melanie was rushed to a hospital. To this day, Melanie still experiences pain from that accident. Real-life daughters Dakota Johnson and Stella Banderas appear as her character's daughters in the film Crazy in Alabama (1999) directed by her husband Antonio Banderas . Her half-sister Tracy Griffith also has a small role in the film. Claims that it was love at first sight when she met her husband Antonio Banderas on the set of Two Much (1996). He had sprinted out of his trailer like a starstruck schoolboy to greet her on her first day on the set. Excited and nervous, the first thing he asked her was how old she was. She cursed, laughed, and then finally answered that she was 37. They stayed together for 19 years. She was unable to star in the stage play "Eden Court" (1985), and in the films The Sheltering Sky (1990) and As Good as It Gets (1997) because of her three pregnancies.

The roles went to Ellen Barkin , Debra Winger , and Helen Hunt (who won an Academy Award), respectively. She has three homes: Los Angeles, Aspen and Marbella, Spain. Coincidentally, she bears the same first name as her mother Tippi Hedren 's character, Melanie Daniels, in The Birds (1963). Was eighteen when she married Don Johnson for the first time. He was eight years older than she, and they met on the set of her mother's film The Harrad Experiment (1973) in the first half of 1972 when she was 14. In 2002, she told Larry King that her best films are: Night Moves (1975), Something Wild (1986), Working Girl (1988), and Nobody's Fool (1994). Auditioned for the role of Susan in Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), but lost out to Madonna . Her son, Alexander Bauer (born in 1985), is the godson of Warren Beatty .

She first met Beatty a decade earlier when she auditioned for his film The Parallax View (1974). She didn't get the role but their friendship lasted. She is also friends with Beatty's wife Annette Bening and his sister Shirley MacLaine . Her father had English, as well as Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish (Scots-Irish) ancestry. Her mother is of half Swedish, one quarter German, and one quarter Norwegian descent. Goes through two boyfriends in Working Girl (1988). As the film begins, she is in a relationship with Alec Baldwin , but at the end, she is in a relationship with Harrison Ford . Both Baldwin and Ford have played Jack Ryan in adaptations of the Tom Clancy novels. First "Miss Golden Globe" to win a Golden Globe Award herself. Joanne Woodward told a 17-year-old Melanie on the set of The Drowning Pool (1975) that her goals were to marry a movie star ( Paul Newman ); have beautiful babies (she had three); and win an Oscar (which she did in 1958).

Melanie said that she adopted the goals for herself by marrying a movie star ( Antonio Banderas ); have beautiful babies (she also had three); but has expressed frustration that she has not won an Oscar even though she was nominated in 1989. She and her daughter Dakota Johnson are the only mother-daughter couple to be "Miss Golden Globe". While in Washington, D.C. addressing the senate on Arts funding, she fell asleep twice during a speech by her host Michigan Senator Spencer Abraham. She apologized citing jet-lag as her reason for snoozing. Her French dubbing voice Dorothée Jemma is also the French dubbing voice of Sheryl Lee and Jennifer Aniston . Melanie said that fans sometimes confuse her with actress Meg Ryan , whom she admires. She would sign Meg Ryan's name so as not to disappoint the fans. Ryan said the same thing happened to her where fans thought she was Melanie. Checked into the Cirque Lodge in Utah for rehab treatments [August 24, 2009]. Same place where Kirsten Dunst and Lindsay Lohan spent time in recent years. Ex-stepdaughter of Nanita Greene Samuels and Noel Marshall .

In August 2000, she held a live "ChitChat" on her website with Dr. Judith Reichman to discuss her personal efforts to become pregnant. When Reichman told Melanie that smoking is toxic to a woman's ovaries and causes earlier menopause by an average of two years, she replied "I honestly didn't know any of that". Underwent surgery for the early stages of skin cancer in December 2009. Her mother was 22 while her father was only 19 when they married in 1952. In her 2016 memoir, Tippi wrote, that upon reflection, that they were too young to get married. Ex-mother-in-law Ana Banderas was disapproving of Melanie at first, but eventually warmed up to her. In a 2002 interview with More magazine, Melanie admitted giving marijuana to her 16-year-old son Alexander Bauer, because she thought it would be better for him to smoke it at home than to go out on the street and get something that would kill him. Her rationale backfired and she had to put Alexander in a 12-step program. She vowed not to let the same happen to her other children.

Her daughter Dakota Johnson saw a therapist as a teenager, because of emotional issues with her parents, who have battled substance abuse. Has smoked since she was 12 years old. Friends with Anjelica Huston , Daryl Hannah , Demi Moore , Eva Longoria , Jane Fonda , Goldie Hawn , Alana Stewart , Kris Jenner , Sandra Bernhard , Jamie Lee Curtis , Sharon Stone , Rosie O'Donnell , Diane Lane and Salma Hayek . One of her mentors was Bob Fosse . He considered casting her in his film Star 80 (1983) but instead chose Mariel Hemingway to play the slain actress Dorothy Stratten . Directed by eight Academy Award winners: Jonathan Demme , Robert Redford , Mike Nichols , Tony Richardson , John Schlesinger , Sidney Lumet , Robert Benton , and Woody Allen . Gave birth to her 1st child at age 28, a son Alexander Griffith Bauer on August 22, 1985. Child's father is her now ex-2nd husband, Steven Bauer .

Gave birth to her 2nd child at age 32, a daughter Dakota Mayi Johnson (aka Dakota Johnson ) on October 4, 1989. Child's father is now ex-3rd husband, Don Johnson . Gave birth to her 3rd child at age 39, a daughter Stella del Carmen Banderas Griffith (aka Stella Banderas ) on September 24, 1996. Child's father is her now estranged 4th husband, Antonio Banderas . (June 6, 2014) Filed for divorce from her 4th husband of 18 years Antonio Banderas . She stays on good terms with her ex-husbands ( Steven Bauer , Don Johnson , and Antonio Banderas ), since they share children together (Alexander Bauer, Dakota Johnson , Stella Banderas ). She attends events with them and posts pictures on her twitter and instagram accounts with flattering captions calling them "handsome". Some of the films that she considered acting in never came to fruition: projects with her then-husband Don Johnson ("The Friendly" (1991) and film adaptation of Dean R.

Koontz novel "The Bad Place" (1990)) ; "Jane" (1997) with Howard Stern ; film adaptation of the J.M. Barrie play 'Mary Rose'' in 2000, that Alfred Hitchcock also considered casting her mother Tippi Hedren in 1964; and "Mrs. California" (1993). In her divorce settlement with Antonio Banderas , she got the house in Aspen and they sold their L.A. mansion and split the profits. Melanie receives $65,000 monthly spousal support from Antonio. $75,000 was taken out of her paycheck for Working Girl (1988) when she showed up to the set intoxicated and unable to say her lines coherently. The money was used to fund the reshoot of that day's scenes. Ex-stepmother of Jesse Johnson . By her own admission, she drank alcohol when she was ten. Her father Peter Griffith was an alcoholic, as was his father. Her childhood friend is Patricia Nedd , known as Patsy.

Melanie backed out of her family's film Roar (1981) because she was afraid that one of the big cats might hurt her. So her real-life mother Tippi Hedren cast Patsy in Melanie's role and shot several scenes. Then, Melanie changed her mind and decided that she wanted her old role back. Tippi and her then-husband Noel Marshall replaced Patsy and re-shot her scenes with Melanie. Melanie did get hurt in the film and had to have reconstruction surgery. But she came back and finished the film. She recalled auditioning for director Adrian Lyne unsuccessfully twice. The first time was for Flashdance (1983) where she danced in a bikini to the Rolling Stones song "Start Me Up". She lost the role to Jennifer Beals . The second time was for Fatal Attraction (1987), but she lost the role to Glenn Close . Lyne finally selected her for Lolita (1997) for which she didn't even audition, beating out Dianne Wiest and Cybill Shepherd . Personal Quotes (12) [about her work with James Woods ] It's kind of like being pregnant. You know, you go through the initial joy of it.

Then you go through wanting it to be over. And then you're finished with it and you forget how bad it was. There's a bit of a stripper in every woman. I don't walk around with fear. I walk around with strength. I believe in cause and effect. I don't think I'm beautiful. When I look in the mirror, I just see me - and, I'm pretty used to me. Antonio [husband Antonio Banderas ] is the best. He is compassionate and humble. Angelina Jolie may get him [husband Antonio Banderas ] in bed for eight hours on a movie set, but I get him in bed every day. [on being typed as a sex symbol] I hope not! I don't want to be -- I've done enough parts like that. I can't say I won't do more, but I really want to do a variety of roles. I would just like to be able to give to people through acting. If I can entertain people by being somebody else and allow somebody to feel something, then that makes me feel good. I like smoking! I mean, God, I quit everything else, can't I smoke?

[on researching the Holocaust for her film, Shining Through (1992)] I didn't know that 6 million Jews were killed. That's a lot of people... until I started researching the movie I didn't know it was that many people. I thought it was like in the hundreds of thousands. I didn't realize it was 6 million people. What I was trying to say was I think a lot of people don't know it was that severe. I wasn't born during the war. I was born in '57... but I think a lot of people don't know. [on Bruce Willis ] I think he's pretty damn near perfect except for the Republican thing. [on being hit by a car at 23] God's way of telling me to slow down. Salary (3) Antonio Banderas | British postcard by Heroes Publishing Ltd… | Flickr British postcard by Heroes Publishing Ltd, London, no. SPC 2753. Charismatic Spanish film actor, film director, film producer and singer Antonio Banderas (1960) began his acting career at age 19 with a series of films by director Pedro Almodóvar.

He became an internationally known Latin heartthrob with high-profile Hollywood films including Philadelphia (1993), Interview with the Vampire (1994), Desperado (1995), Evita (1996), The Mask of Zorro (1998), and the Shrek sequels. José Antonio Domínguez Banderas was born in Málaga, Spain, in 1960. He was the son of Ana Banderas, a school teacher, and José Domínguez, a police officer in the Guardia Civil. He has one younger brother, Francisco. He took his mother's surname as his stage name. He initially wanted to be a soccer player, but his dream ended when he broke his foot at age 14. At that time he developed a passion for theatre after seeing the stage production of Hair. Banderas began his acting studies at the School of Dramatic Art in Málaga, and made his acting debut at a small theatre in Málaga. He was arrested by the Spanish police for his performance in a play by Bertolt Brecht, because of the political censorship under the rule of General Francisco Franco.

Banderas spent a whole night at the police station. He had three or four of such arrests while he was working with a small theatre troupe that toured all over Spain and was giving performances in small town theatres and on the street. In 1981, at the age of 19, he moved to Madrid in pursuit of an acting career. There he joined the troupe at the National Theatre of Spain, becoming the youngest member of the company. Banderas's stage performances caught the attention of film director Pedro Almodóvar, who cast the young actor in Pestañas postizas (1982, Enrique Belloch), produced by Almodóvar. Then he played a gay Islamic terrorist in Laberinto de pasiones/Labyrinth of Passion (1982, Pedro Almodóvar). Banderas and Almodovar joined forces in making innovative and sexually provocative movies during the 1980’s. In Matador (1986, Pedro Almodóvar) he played a troubled young man who is confused about his sexuality.

Banderas made headlines in Spain with his performance as a psychotic gay stalker, making his first male-to-male on-screen kiss in Almodovar's La ley del deseo/Law of Desire (1987, Pedro Almodóvar) with Carmen Maura. Banderas's long and fruitful collaboration with Almodóvar eventually prepared him for international recognition that came with his work in the Academy Award-nominated film Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios/Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988, Pedro Almodóvar). He had his breakthrough with the controversial ¡Átame!/Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1989, Pedro Almodóvar) as mental patient Ricky who kidnaps a porn star (Victoria Abril) and keeps her tied up until she returns his love.

Other Spanish films in which he appeared were El señor Galíndez (1984, Rodolfo Kuhn) starring Héctor Alterio, Los zancos/The Stilts (1984, Carlos Saura) with Laura del Sol and Fernando Fernán Gómez, Si te dicen que caí/If They Tell You I Fell (1989, Vicente Aranda) with Victoria Abril, and Terra Nova (1991, Calogero Salvo). In 1991 he got also international attention as an unwitting object of Madonna's affection in the documentary Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991, Alek Keshishian, Mark Aldo Miceli). Antonio Banderas began appearing in American films. In 1992 he made his Hollywood debut with The Mambo Kings (1992, Arne Glimcher) as a soulful Cuban trumpeter opposite Armand Assante. Because he did not speak English at that time, his dialogue for the film was taught to him phonetically. At AllMovie, Rebecca Flint Marx writes: “Banderas still managed to turn in a critically praised performance as a struggling musician.”.

He then shot to international fame with his sensitive performance as the lover of Tom Hanks' AIDS-infected lawyer in Philadelphia (1993, Jonathan Demme). During the following years he appeared in several major Hollywood releases, including a substantial role as a sexy Old World vampire opposite Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in the film adaptation of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994, Neil Jordan), and a starring role as the shimmering gunslinger in Desperado (1995, Roberto Rodriguez). He starred as ubiquitous narrator Che alongside Madonna (as Eva Peron) in Evita (1996, Alan Parker), an adaptation of the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. He also had success with his role as the legendary masked swordsman Zorro in The Mask of Zorro (1998, Martin Campbell), opposite Anthony Hopkins and Catherina Zeta-Jones. (he was the first Latino to play the Mexican swashbuckler). Banderas' debut as a director was the interesting black comedy Crazy in Alabama (1999), starring his wife Melanie Griffith.

In 2000, Ridley Scott offered Banderas a part as a peasant in his film, Gladiator (2000, Ridley Scott) and he reluctantly accepted, but demanded exactly $50,000 for the role, which is currently the world record for the highest salary of an extra. In 2001, he collaborated again with Robert Rodriguez who cast him in the Spy Kids films. He also starred in the poor Original Sin (2001, Michael Cristofer) with Angelina Jolie. In 2002, he starred in the equally poor Femme Fatale (2002, Brian De Palma) opposite Rebecca Romijn-Stamos and in Frida (2002, Julie Taymor) with Salma Hayek. Then he reprised his role as El Maiachi in the last instalment of the Mexico trilogy Once Upon A Time In Mexico (2003, Roberto Rodriguez) with Johnny Depp and Salma Hayek.

In 2003, Antonio Banderas returned to the musical genre, appearing to great acclaim in the Broadway revival of Maury Yeston's musical Nine, based on the film 8½, playing the prime role originated by the late Raúl Juliá. Banderas won both the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk awards, and was nominated for the Tony Award for best actor in a musical. Tweaking his image as a sexy, macho swashbuckler, Banderas next provided the pitch-perfect voice of the rapier-wielding Puss-in-Boots for Shrek 2 (2004, Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, Conrad Vernon), Shrek the Third (2007, Chris Miller, Raman Hui) and the last film in the Shrek franchise, Shrek Forever After (2010, Mike Mitchell ). The character became popular on the family film circuit. In 2005, he reprised his role as Zorro in The Legend of Zorro (2005, Martin Campbell), though this was not as successful as the original.

In 2006, he starred in Take the Lead (2006, Liz Friedlander), a high school-set movie in which he played a ballroom dancing teacher. Recently he could be seen in the new Woody Allen comedy You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010, Woody Allen). He is set to be the protagonist of the Shrek spin-off film: Puss in Boots: The Story of an Ogre Killer (2011, Mike Mitchell). Also announced is Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World (2011, Robert Rodriguez). Antonio Banderas divorced his first wife, actress Ana Leza in 1996, and married Melanie Griffith that same year. They had met a year earlier while shooting Two Much. They have a daughter, Stella Banderas (1996). He has invested his movie earnings in Andalusian products, which he promotes in Spain and the USA. He owns 50% of a winery in Northern Spain called Anta Banderas which makes red and rose wines. He shares time between his two residencies, one is in the United States, and one in the South of Spain.

Sources: Rebecca Flint Marx (AllMovie), Steve Shelokhonov (IMDb), TCM, Wikipedia, and IMDb. Done Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas Divorcing After 18 Years of Marriage | E! News Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas Divorcing After 18 Years of Marriage By Sonia Recchia/Getty Images UPDATE: Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas have released the following statement regarding their split: "We have thoughtfully and consensually decided to finalize our almost twenty years marriage in a loving and friendly manner honoring and respecting each other, our family and friends and the beautiful time we have spent together - Melanie & Antonio" ________ It's the end of an era. E! News confirms that Griffith has filed for divorce from Banderas. The famous duo have been married for 18 years and have one daughter together, Stella, who turns 18 in the fall. Griffith has cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for ending her marriage to the Spanish actor and is asking for spousal support.

According to TMZ , who first broke the story, the breakup is amicable, but splitting up the couple's extensive real estate portfolio is going to be somewhat of a challenge considering they have properties in both U.S. and Spain. This marks Griffith's fourth divorce. She was married to Don Johnson in 1976 for six months before they split. She then married her co-star from She's in the Army Now, Steven Bauer, in 1982. Frank Micelotta/Getty Images The two were married for five years and had a son, Alexander, together. Griffiths later remarried Johnson in June 1989 and welcomed a daughter, (and the star of Fifty Shades of Grey) Dakota Johnson , a few months later. Johnson and Griffith had a famously rocky relationship, and separated multiple before finally calling it quits in 1994. The blond actress later fell in love with Banderas, who was her co-star in Two Much. Banderas was still technically married to his first wife, Ana Leza, at the time, but was going through a separation.

One month after both of their divorces finalized, they tied the knot in a low-key ceremony in London on May 14, 1996. (Originally published on June 6, 2014 at 10:39 a.m.) Brazil E! Is Everywhere This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our US edition? E! Is Everywhere This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our Canadian edition? E! Is Everywhere This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our UK edition? E! Is Everywhere This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our Australian edition? E! ist überall Dieser Inhalt ist für internationale Besucher verfügbar. Möchtest du ihn in der deutschen Version anschauen? E! Is Everywhere This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our German edition? E! est partout Une version adaptée de ce contenu est disponible pour notre public international. Souhaitez-vous voir ça dans notre édition française ? E!

Is Everywhere This content is available customized for our international audience. Would you like to view this in our French edition? Yes! Cele|bitchy | Antonio Banderas & Melanie Griffith are divorcing after 18 yrs of marriage Antonio Banderas & Melanie Griffith are divorcing after 18 yrs of marriage Antonio Banderas , Divorces , Melanie Griffith Let’s get this Friday afternoon started off in style with a sneaky celebrity divorce announcement, shall we? Melanie Griffith & Antonio Banderas are calling it quits after 18 years of marriage. That’s a long time by Hollywood standards, but these two have had a rocky time of things. The last we really heard about them, the tabloids were having a field day in 2012 with stories of Antonion’s infidelity . He did the full court press to win Melanie back after she “played hard to get” and made Antonio grovel. I was just thinking about these two the other day and wondering how things were going. The answer? Not good at all: Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas are going their separate ways after 18 years of marriage.

According to TMZ, the actress filed for divorce from Banderas, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split. In documents obtained by TMZ, Griffith, 56, asks for child support and sole physical and joint legal custody of the couple’s daughter, Stella, 17. She also asks for spousal support in the documents, which were filed by attorney to the stars Laura Wasser. Married since 1996, the Working Girl star and Banderas, 53, have battled breakup rumors for years. And they’ve certainly had their share of ups and downs — most notably when Griffith went to rehab to be treated for an addiction to painkillers. “We have had as many problems as anybody. We’ve never hidden it,” Banderas told AARP magazine in 2011. “We’ve been open about addictions, in the case of Melanie. She has overcome her problems beautifully. I didn’t know she was so strong. It makes me love her even more, because she has been an unbelievable lion fighting, and she got it.

The last [relapse] was three years ago, and it just welded us.” As part of the actress’ recovery, the couple and their kids went to family therapy. (Griffith also has two children from previous relationships.) “It was a very unique experience,” Banderas said. “It was very rewarding at the end.” This will be Griffith’s fourth divorce. She was married twice before to Don Johnson, and also to Steve Bauer. Banderas was previously married, too, to Ana Leza. [From Us Weekly ] I’m actually surprised that Melanie was the one to file for divorce because — and I feel bad for pointing this out — this was her fourth marriage. Like … she’s officially broken the Ross Gellar record now. That’s awful. I feel so bad for her, but maybe Antonio really was a dog. He spoke of their problems in that AARP interview . I got the impression he was glossing over the cheating issue in favor of alluding to Melanie’s addictions . Yeah. Melanie will be better off without Antonio, and I suspect it won’t be long before we hear the hows and whys.

Photos courtesy of WENN Melanie Griffith and long-haired son Alexander Bauer are all smiles after vegan lunch | Daily Mail Online Melanie Griffith and long-haired son Alexander Bauer are all smiles after vegan lunch comments Eating as healthy as possible is just one of the many ways actress Melanie Griffith is holding on to her looks. Perhaps that's one of the reasons she and her 27-year-old son were all smiles as they left Real Food Daily in Beverly Hills on Thursday, an all-natural organic vegan restaurant. The 55-year-old actress carried her purse and a laptop zipped up in a case while Bauer carried a denim jacket and a to-go box of his leftovers. Feeling good: Actress Melanie Griffith and her son Alexander Bauer leave their lunch at the organic vegan cafe Real Food Daily in Beverly Hills on Thursday afternoon Both mom and son were dressed casually for the sunny June afternoon. Griffith wore a patterned, sleeveless gray top, blue jeans and suede cowboy boots. Her bearded, long-haired son wore a loose navy T-shirt, blue jeans and brown shoes, as well as a faded red bandana as a headband, to complete his late twenty-something Hippie look.

Alex is Griffith's first son from her marriage to She's In The Army now co-star Steven Bauer. All smiles: The mother-son pair were all smiles as they walked out of the restaurant carrying to-go containers They were married for two years after their son was born, before divorcing in 1987. Shortly thereafter, Griffith began a relationship with Antonio Banderas after meeting him on the set of the film Too Much. The Hollywood couple have been married since 1996 and are still madly in love, as evidenced by the tattoo Griffith proudly displayed on her right arm with the Antonio and a heart around it. Looking good: At 55-years-old, Griffith still looks very good, due in part to her healthy diet They have one daughter together, Stella del Carmen Banderas Griffith, who is 16. The Crazy in Alabama star is currently filming Automata with her hunky 52-year-old Spanish husband. In the futuristic science fiction film, Banderas plays an insurance agent who investigates robots who live among us, discovering something that will alter the course of humanity. The film will be released in 2014.

Casually dressed: Griffith wore a sleeveless gray patterned top, jeans and suede cowboy boots

Question: Who in 1996 married Antonio Banderas, her co-star in 'Too Much'?
Answer: MELANIE GRIFFITH